How to find a great nanny with Elisa’s London Nannies?
How do I find a great nanny?
There are many things families should consider before hiring a nanny. In this article we discuss the process, the calibre of candidates we recommend and how to make it succeed.
The process:
At the beginning of your search for the perfect candidate the first thing you should consider is your own family situation. This will help you determine what type of a nanny would work best for you.
Things to take into account will be; your children’s ages, the days and hours needed and salary offered and also other questions. For example, do you prefer a live in or live out nanny, do you need your nanny to drive, do you need them to speak another language. Will they need to be able to travel, if so how often and for how long. Are there any additional duties and responsibilities your nanny will have regarding your children. Will they be required to cook and carry out any additional household duties.
The nanny and family relationship is another aspect parents should consider when looking for a candidate. You will want to find someone you would be comfortable having in your home on a daily basis. If the parents will be staying at home they should make sure that the nanny is compatible to be at home with them all day. If they will be out to work then they should have a nanny who is confident being in charge when they are gone.
Many nannies have told us that the best nanny-employer working relationships are those when the parents made them feel ‘part of a family’ while still having clear rules and guidelines and that when they were with these families they also had a better and deeper bond with their children.
The calibre of candidates we recommend:
Based on all the information provided we check our available candidates and match them according to the required skill sets and abilities to suit your family needs and your child’s developmental needs.
All our candidates are professional, experienced and committed. We make your search our top priority sourcing nannies from those that are already registered with us and from our wider network. Additionally we go the extra mile for our clients and work hard to find nannies who live close and ideally can either walk, cycle or drive to avoid using public transport or long commute.
In order to ensure our candidates are high quality we confirm their ID, all their documents, check a minimum of two work references and conduct face to face interviews. We require up to date police checks, enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), and we recommend that they have current Paediatric First Aid Certificate and can advise courses in London for those who need one.
When we’ve selected our top matches we send you their CVs for you to consider. Once you choose a suitable candidate we help to arrange an interview and we can provide some sample interview questions. Many parents interview the candidates by themselves in a relaxed atmosphere before introducing the children. We also advise that each family checks with the referees to get a better feel about the suitability of a candidate before making a final decision.
How to make it success:
Each family should conduct a trial period with their candidate before making a final judgement about their suitability for the job. We can’t emphasise enough how important this is. Some people interview very well and struggle with the job while other nannies may be shy during the interview but confident and competent with the children.
It is also important to be very specific about all the duties and responsibilities the job will involve and communicate that clearly to the candidate during the interview. You should prepare a contract specifying all the details the job will entail including days and hours required, holidays, sick days and any other important information about the job, just like in any other new job. We can provide you with a sample nanny contract, help you negotiate salaries and can recommend a company to help set up nanny tax and payroll.
Employing a new nanny can be a stressful experience if you haven’t considered how to help them settle into their new role. In fact, it is not much different from a company employer starting a new job.
Therefore, we recommend that you spend the time to train your nanny. The importance of training is a key to success like in any other job. It doesn’t matter if they have many years of experience they haven’t been a nanny in your home. If you don’t show them your way of doing things, they will do it their own way, or the way they did things previously, which can cause a conflict.
For more detailed information and our tips on how to help a nanny to settle in a new job and make it success please click here.
We hope you enjoyed this article and found it helpful. If you have any more questions or if you would like us to help you find your perfect candidate then please do not hesitate to contact us.